A Miscellany of English Language Teaching

This list was supplied to me by Philip Kerr, teacher, trainer and materials writer. I had the pleasure and honour of working on the Straightforward course with Philip and have always immensely enjoyed his talks and articles for teachers. In fact, I wish he’d write more! Anyway, he supplies here a very interesting list of things that inspired people to become teachers. Food for thought…

In January of this year, I moderated an online discussion organised by SEETA, the South-East European Teachers’ Association, the subject of which was ‘who or what has inspired you most in your work as a teacher?’ The topic of the discussion itself was in part inspired by own mid-life need for an inspirational shot in the arm. If I learnt one thing from the experience, it was to revise my profound suspicion of online discussions. Here is what people said … in order of frequency.

1 Other teachers

The most frequent postings concerned teachers (mostly from high school) as role models. The inspirational qualities included patience, treating students as equals, approachability, dedication and a sense of fun. One comment that particularly struck me (as a writer of coursebooks) was a description of one inspiring teacher as ‘fun and different … she didn’t use coursebooks’.

As a follow-up, I asked my teenage daughter if she had any teachers who might inspire their students to become teachers. Her response was a bemused smile – parents ask such dumb questions sometimes.

2 The English language and cultural icons

With my native-speaker-tinted spectacles, it had never crossed my mind that anyone might actually be inspired by the language itself. One participant talked about the endless joy of learning a language; others talked about an obsessive interest in the language. I realise now that I should have been aware of this long ago: as an itinerant teacher trainer, I know that many people are much less interested in what I’m saying than how I say it.

Closely related to the language interest is an interest in the culture of the English-speaking world, especially pop singers. One participant’s path to becoming an English teacher began with a compulsive desire to understand the lyrics of a Tina Turner song. Others cited Duran Duran (Lady Di’s favourite band) and George Michael. Is there a new generation of young teachers out there inspired by Britney or the Pussycat Dolls?

3 Students

No one has been inspired to become a teacher by their students, for the obvious reason that you don’t have any students until you become a teacher. But having taken the step of becoming a teacher, many testified to finding an on-going motivation through their relationships with both individual students and whole classes. This is also, of course, the ‘correct’ answer to the question of who inspires you.

4 Trainers and training

Four-week certificate courses or longer diplomas often work their magic, and MAs have been known to do the trick, too. This business is not short of ‘gurus’ and Super Mario, (aka ‘Mario Rinvoludicrous’, with 19 hits on a Yahoo search) duly got a mention. Starting 11 May, Mario will be moderating another SEETA discussion on the following topic ‘What have you always thought is absurd in EFL thinking?’ Should be fun …

5 Family

Teaching often seems to run in families – both my sisters are university teachers – so I wasn’t surprised to read stories of being inspired by older siblings and, less commonly, parents. In my own family, however, it doesn’t look as though there will be much generational continuity: maybe it’s a recessive gene.

6 A higher calling

Given the atrocious salaries (or wages in the case of many language school teachers), a higher calling is not perhaps too surprising. One teacher described her work as ‘a form of social and political action and as a way of giving something back to the community’. Another felt called to the profession by God. Sobering thoughts.

I must take this opportunity to thank everyone who took part in the discussion (especially Melania in Romania; Zarina in Bulgaria; Aneta and Suzana in Macedonia; Natasha, Lora, Vesna and Isidora in Serbia). Thanks, too, to all those who were prepared to write their narratives (especially a group of teachers at St James Academy in Seville).

This makes me wonder about my own inspirations. What inspired YOU? Post a comment, if you feel so inclined…

This time, I won’t comment on my list – I think these quotes about teaching stand well on their own. And I have NOT included that “I hear and I forget…etc etc” Chinese quote about teaching. It’s used far too much, please stop it!

1. “To be good is noble, but to teach others how to be good is nobler – and less trouble.” Mark Twain

3. “Of course, behaviorism works. So does torture. Give me a no-nonsense, down-to-earth behaviorist, a few drugs, and simple electrical appliances, and in six months I will have him reciting the Athanasian Creed in public.” W.H. Auden

4 To me the sole hope of human salvation lies in teaching. George Bernard Shaw.

I don’t know the sources of the last two, but I really like them. I’ve included a horribly cynical one and an inspirational one to finish.

5. “Teachers are people who used to like children.”

6. “Teaching is the profession that creates all the others.”

One activity I like to do with quotes like these (not necessarily quotes about teaching, but quotes in general) is to give a class half of the quotes. Students then work in pairs to finish them however they fancy. We go through their quotes, and then go through the originals. This kind of thing would work well with quotes 2,4,5 and 6 above for example. In fact, if you’ve been to a workshop of mine you may have done this activity! Anyway, it’s a great five-minute filler or finisher.